Release & Review - Hooked by Brenda Rothert

From the author of the On the Line and Fire on
Ice hockey romance series comes a sultry novel featuring a brooding NHL player
who’s hell on skates—and the no-nonsense woman who forces him to clean up his
act.

Miranda:Even
though I’m broke, putting myself through college, and working two jobs, I’m
trying to make the best of it. Meanwhile, Jake Birch, hockey’s hottest bad boy,
lives in a luxury hotel in downtown Chicago—and still complains about every
little thing in his penthouse. But after I tell him off, instead of getting me
fired, Jake requests me as his personal housekeeper. Then he starts flirting
with me. Only I’m not flirting back . . . at least, I’m trying not to. Did I
mention that he’s hockey’s hottest bad boy?

Jake:I’ve met
the best woman at the worst possible time. Miranda is the fire to my ice—a
sexy, charmingly candid spark who breaks down my walls and reminds me what it’s
like to feel again. But I’m being forced to date my team owner’s daughter to
keep my job, so I can’t be caught with Miranda. Still, we’re getting
closer—until Miranda finds out about my “girlfriend.” And that’s not the only
secret I’ve been keeping. But Miranda’s the one I want . . . even if she
doesn’t believe me.

I almost felt like I was
reading a sexy retelling of Cinderella with a sport twist.

In Hooked, we have a likable main character meeting a not-so-likable
love interest. I found Miranda to be extremely relatable, but though I like
alpha males, I had some trouble connecting with Jake.

Look, Miranda is one easy
to like woman, because she’s working twice as hard as anyone around. She’s often
criticized by her pain-in-the-ass boss, but she keeps it together and gets the
job done. She spends late nights studying so she can someday graduate, even
though it’ll take her forever to do so because she can only go to school part
time. She’s there for her sister, even when she barely has time for herself. She’s
my kind of people, you know? There’s nothing fancy about her. She’s just
another girl trying to get through life and make a living.

The main thing here for me
is that while some authors have tried and failed to make their main character
relatable by using the “poor girl” arc, Brenda Rothert did a good job building
Miranda in a way that was believable. I liked Miranda. It’s as simple as that.

But Jake? Well, let’s
just say Jake is the kind of hero that takes warming up to. He’s an asshole at
first. He’s sleeping around, having an attitude, thinking he’s the king of the
world just because he’s a famous hockey player. Sure he’s hot and all—but when
are hockey players not hot? I mean… I don’t watch hockey games (most people in
my country don’t give a damn about it), but I have this illusion that all
hockey players are hot. Don’t ask me why… I just do.

Or maybe because...

Anyway… So Jake is an
arrogant ass in the beginning, and not exactly in the kind of way that I find
passable because of my alpha male obsession. But that situation doesn’t last
forever. When Jake moves into a hotel because his apartment is getting
renovated, he meets a woman who intrigues him: Miranda. That’s when Jake starts
opening up and showing Miranda (and us) that deep down he’s a nice guy with a troubled
side. It gets easier, then, to understand how down-to-Earth Miranda falls for
him.

One of the best things
about the romance is how it doesn’t feel rushed. Jake and Miranda go from
strangers to flirting to “let’s go out” to “let’s date” to more. They’re not
rushing to get things done—not even sexually, which I always appreciate. Yay
for lasting sexual tension!

While I liked all of
those things, I had a few other problems with the story that kept me from
loving it as much as I would’ve liked.

The whole drama with completely-insane
Hailey was a little over the top. It was also pretty obvious where
things were heading from the moment Miranda mentioned her trust issues. It just
felt too cliché… And that predictability was present in much of the story, you
know? There was just something familiar about the whole thing. While Miranda
was a good main character and she felt real, I guess I missed a different or
exciting element that would set this apart from other contemporary romances
with sport stars as the love interest. Overall, this was a good
romance story with a relatable main character and good sexual tension. I just wish it had had that extra something to make it stand out.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.